We operate distinctly. North and South. The cities of Auckland and Dunedin. One sub-tropical, lush, loud, and neon. One gothic, gentle, and cool. Yet our punk whakapapa is transitory in nature. 

The Ground Swallows You is a graphic investigation into the geopolitical implications of shipping on the high seas, beginning with a simple observation of a docked ship in Dunedin and landing in the far more complex, disputed territory of Western Sahara.

Hito Steyerl's Duty Free Art (2014) strikes deep into art’s social function. Free-trade zones, where speculative art commodities are bought and sold invisibly and tax free, are, like civil wars, an important backbone of the international art business.

Jim Allen’s News presents video and still documentation of three works by Mark Harvey responding to a performance by Jim Allen entitled News. 

Christchurch based emerging artist Natalie Kittow presents a new video work developed for Blue Oyster featuring selected sites around Dunedin including the gallery itself. 

Join us for an afternoon screening of Phytophillic, a curated programme of contemporary video art and archival footage focused on the photosynthetic among us. Organised by Ellie Irons and presented by Zina Swanson.

Having spent 3 weeks at the Caselberg Cottage in Broad Bay and working from the Blue Oyster studio space, Summer Resident Ana Iti opens the 2016 programme with Heavy to Hold. 

To conclude our 2015 programme of exhibitions Blue Oyster has commissioned a new video installation by Auckland based artist Juliet Carpenter.

An exploration of some live art themes.

Robert Carter, Brendan Jon Philip, Stella Corkery, Ondřej Vicena.
The call to “design your own flag” aligns with a proud DIY culture, modern democracy and a wry antipodean humour. What does the referendum mean to Aotearoa’s largely apolitical and globalised youth?